Chicago Blackhawks: Top 3 players who must step up against Oilers
1. Corey Crawford
Want to know the worst kept secret in the world? Goaltending means a lot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. A hot goalie has caused many a team to either flourish or fail in the postseason. The Blackhawks absolutely need Corey Crawford to be the best goaltender in the series to have a prayer against the Oilers. If Mike Smith or Mikko Koskinen outperform Crawford, the Blackhawks are screwed.
In a battle between two teams that score a lot in a short period of time, the series is probably coming down to goaltending. Crawford’s the safe bet here. Smith has been inconsistent at best and though Koskinen has been very solid this season, he’s still sort of a question mark because he’s never been a true number one goalie for more than a few months at a time. Also, he’s never played in the postseason.
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Crawford will have his hands full. The Oilers are an incredible team when at least one of their two best players (McDavid and Draisaitl) are on the ice. Also, the Blackhawks had one of the worst defenses in the NHL. That’s a pretty suboptimal combination. In order to upset the Oilers, the Blackhawks are going to need Crawford to steal at least one game, maybe even two, possibly even all three.